posted at 6:40 pm on February 22, 2012 by Allahpundit

A bit more evidence to support the theory that the “chink in the armor” headline was indeed an honest mistake. Could a guy who spends sizable parts of his leisure time doing good works for the poor and sick also have a racist compulsion so intense that he’d risk his job on a sub-moronic “chink” joke?

It’s possible. Likely?

Actions speak louder than words. My words may have hurt people in that moment but my actions have always helped people. If those who vilify me would take a deeper look at my life they would see that I am the exact opposite of how some are portraying me.

They would see that on the day of the incident I got a call from a friend – who happens to be homeless – and rushed to his aid. He was collapsed on the side of the road due to exposure and hunger. They would see how I picked him up and got him a hotel room and fed him. They would see I used my vacation time last year to volunteer in the orphanages of Haiti. They would see how I ‘adopted’ an elderly Alzheimer’s patient and visited him every week for a year. They would see that every winter I organize a coat drive for those less fortunate in New Haven. They would see how I raised $10,000 for a friend in need when his kids were born four months premature. They would see how I have worked in soup kitchens and convalescent homes since I was a kid. They would see my actions speak louder than my words. They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s. They would see that each day I live and will continue to live a life of joy and service…

I wrote thousands and thousands and thousands of headlines in my five years at ESPN. There never was a problem with any of them and I was consistently praised as an employee – both personally and professionally. Two weeks prior to the incident I had my first column published on espnW.com. My career was taking off. Why would I throw that all away with a racist pun? This was an honest mistake.

He worked there long enough that, assuming this is all true, some of his co-workers must have known about it. Did ESPN talk to anyone around him to try to determine whether the headline was an innocent mistake or did they just pull the trapdoor to send a message to the rest of the staff not to make this same error, accidentally or not? A “zero tolerance” policy would be harsh given that this is potentially a career-ruining offense and bad faith is by no means assured. Problem is, ESPN doesn’t have a “zero tolerance” policy: Two broadcasters who used the same phrase vis-a-vis Lin survived with their jobs, one with a suspension and one with no apparent punishment at all. The distinction, presumably, is that broadcasters work extemporaneously whereas Federico had time to deliberate on his choice of words, but that doesn’t prove much about motive. It’s possible to believe that Federico simply missed the double meaning when he was writing the headline and/or that the broadcasters thought they could get away with a dumb gag by slipping that phrase into their commentary on Lin. The real distinction at play seems to be that broadcasters are less easily replaced than some random copy editor, so they got the benefit of the doubt whereas Federico was axed on the spot. Or at least that’s how it looks: Can’t wait to see whether ESPN responds to him or whether they give him The Full Brock.

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If those who vilify me would take a deeper look at my life they would see that I am the exact opposite of how some are portraying me.

It’s sad when people who are smeared react like this. It’s like your face being splashed with feces and then people laughing at you when you try to wipe them off your face. His accusers are low, base people.

“Oh no, I’m not a racist! I treat people the same no matter what their color! I give to charity!”

And the haters will sneer to themselves, laughing, and think, they really got this guy. Look at him squirm. He’s ours now. We’ll make him dance for awhile and then kick him to the curb, as a message to others.

It is all about the mouse and money.
At the first thought of a boycott of Disney for the stupidest reasons they will fire a thousand people to make that problem go away. There will never be a occupy Disneyland. They will give them millions to someone to make sure that does not happen.

How many times has bho and team said something that was so outta here they would be creamed(if bhopress was not in the thrill area) but they get the pass. A person makes a statement and all he!! breaks out. If our country has gotten to the point you can open your mouth to say something, that the bhopress thinks is above what they think is OK, the 1st is gone! IMO, this is all about the fact Lin does the same thing Tebow did, can’t have faith anyplace so the public can see it?
L

He makes a compelling case, but man was that a stupid mistake and it really is hard to see how anyone could not see how the use of the word “chink” in any context when talking about an Asian player would be a problem.

ESPN is in full CYA mode, the demagogues are in full attack mode, and though this guy should be given a break he will just end up another victim of the liberal MSM.

Until this incident I had never heard the word “chink” as a racial slur. I had only heard it in the context of ” a chink in the cabin” or a “chink in the armor.” How can anyone be sure this man had any intention but the common phrases. Now, knowing the other meaning, I guess it was a poor choice of words, but certainly not reason to fire the man. He should have apologized and they should have moved on. I guess I have been racist without knowing it since I have used the word in its other context a few times. I guess we need to have a book of words we are no longer allowed to use published because it is getting harder and harder to keep up with the forbidden vocabulary – especially if you are not regularly exposed to these words and don’t have them pointed out.

In slightly related news, I watched a portion of the Rachel Nichols interview of Lin on SportsCenter this morning. I really enjoyed the look of unimaginable surprise on Rachel’s face when she asked Jeremy where he had heard the worst kind of bigoted remarks as an asian-american basketball player and his response was in college. “What? WHAT!” she says. He explained that he really didn’t hear anything in high school or in the pros, but in the Ivy League they know how to throw around racial slurs.

But, but they are educated. They are progressive. That just doesn’t make sense.

If you’re male? NO
If you’re a white male? HELL NO
If you’re a white conservative male? GET IN THE JAIL, OPPRESSOR

Jeddite on February 22, 2012 at 6:45 PM

This.

It is already culturally ASSUMED that a middle-age white male is a racist, bigoted, oppressive xenophobe who also hates women and gays. (Try being a southern white male on top of that – but that’s another story) Well Federico, you lie with the liberal dogs at ESPN you’ll end up flea-bitten. Good luck with that.

At least Juan Williams had his FOX gig to keep him afloat after his hideous racism against muslims was exposed. They are all about that at FOX anyway, right?

I’ll go even farther, not only did they overreact, ESPN actually committed a racist act by firing the guy. The man used a perfectly good turn of phrase, in context, and, not only did everyone understand exactly what he was trying to say, what he was trying to say was fit exactly the situation he was trying to describe. ESPN should have stood up for him and the English language by refusing to acknowledge how a racist, not their editor, use the phrase. Not only that, if I were Jeremy Lin, I would call ESPN right now and tell them exactly the above, too.

Until this incident I had never heard the word “chink” as a racial slur. I had only heard it in the context of ” a chink in the cabin” or a “chink in the armor.” How can anyone be sure this man had any intention but the common phrases.

lukjuj on February 22, 2012 at 7:01 PM

Everyone is assuming that he’s guilty and that he was fully cognizant that chink meant “chink”.

There are many people who simply don’t associate Chinese with “chink”. This is leftism run amok.

He very likely made a simple gaffe. I mean, come on…he would let that go out knowing it was a racial slur? Not likely.

JetBoy on February 22, 2012 at 7:02 PM

He obviously didn’t spend enough time policing himself to make sure he was living and thinking in an approved way.

I know I spend every waking hour carefully monitoring every action I take, every thought I have, and every word I say in order to make sure one of the precious minorities from the protected victim class doesn’t burst into tears and dissolve away in a puddle of butthurt caused by the hurtful words of the white racist cracker.

This dude needs to give ESPN the finger and strike out on a freelance career or start his own business. Get away as far as possible from this bleeding heart bullchit. Then you can think whatever you want and go tell clowns like the suits at ESPN to f**k off.

The sports journalism world has become the worst of all PC snake pits. The ESPN and CBS guys fall over themselves trying to get on the high moral horse. John Rocker was their moment of clarity.

I think its all because they’re terrified to admit to themselves that what they do for a living is write about other people playing games. It really is pathetic, at least if one considers himself a beacon of journalistic light.

I understand that he’s trying to dig his way out of this. I do. But having written headlines for a news website: It is ALL ABOUT PUNS. The headline he wrote does not make sense unless you think about it as a pun. I feel bad that this is going to haunt him for the rest of his life because he’s probably not a racist, but it strikes as extremely unlikely the headline wasn’t intentional.

I think its all because they’re terrified to admit to themselves that what they do for a living is write about other people playing games. It really is pathetic, at least if one considers himself a beacon of journalistic light.

MaxMBJ on February 22, 2012 at 7:09 PM

Nope. It’s another way to push the anti-White PC agenda to a crowd that doesn’t watch the pro-female and pro-gay garbage pushed by channels like Bravo and the three big networks. There’s a huge audience out there that doesn’t watch network television and they’re not about to let that audience think dangerous ideas about what’s going on this country. It’s important those hicks get the message, too.

They would see my actions speak louder than my words. They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s. They would see that each day I live and will continue to live a life of joy and service…

And THAT’s why they fired you, buddy! You’re Christian and a benevolent fellow. Liberals hate charity that isn’t part of the government or given under the threat of the gun…… You know, income redistribution, fairness, income inequality, all that crap.

You joined ESPN and the liberal media that they are part of (and they are almost as liberal as they come). So too bad for you. I wish I could help you, buddy, but the people you work with and work for are all against people like me who think Christians are at least as good a folk as anyone else…….

You screwed up. You trusted Liberals.

Subsunk

PS, that said, you do deserve your job back and a hefty settlement from the pricks you worked for. Go get it.

Here is an update for the guy. Your words hurt absolutely no one. Not one person was harmed by your words. In fact, 99% of the people who are arguing that they were offended were not offended. Attacking you and taking you down in order to empower themselves is what the reasoning is behind this. If I were you, I would suggest making yourself successful outside of their calls for you to sacrifice yourself on the altar of PC correctness and in the process cut their power.

I’m having E-Mail issues.Heres a 1,000 comment thread,that I
cannot believe is going under the radar,and the Morning Joe
Crew were PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
===========================================================

I believe the guy that he meant nothing. When people are not consumed by the gotcha game, they tend to act naturally, and to use phrases that are customary and common. What is next, we can’t say there is a a nip in the air? I got gypped. A wopper of a mistake. These expression are used every day. It WILL happen, that the subject of the comment will be of some descent that the thought police will be right on it. Who knows, any one of us could be next.

ESPN, as the employer, has every right to fire him. Too bad employers have unequal rights when it comes to whether they want to pay for contraceptives or for that matter even to provide health care.

That being said, who has decided that now there are two “c” words? Why are people under the ESPN corporate banner allowed to use the n word indiscriminately in records and songs?

Those from whom he has sought forgiveness will never forgive him. It is not who they are. He will learn that he has no one to answer to but himself. He is a good guy and I hope and believe he will land on his feet.

I’ll go along with that. But was it ESPN management that made the decision or was the decision sent to them from Disney?

In any event, it certainly looks like incompetence and those who made the decision look clueless. ESPN is probably the top of the world for people like Frederico, but he’s better off going elsewhere. He sounds like a good man, he’ll make it back to the top.

I didn’t even think it was racist, partly because the few times I’ve heard ‘chink’, it’s been in reference to someone who was Chinese, and Lin is from Taiwan. My Taiwanese friends feel they are ‘real’ China and also ‘different’ from mainland China. Maybe that’s just splitting hairs, but to refer to an American born player of Taiwanese heritage a ‘chink’ didn’t even dawn on me when I saw the headline.

The other thing, ‘chink in the armor’ is a perfectly reasonable and oft used expression. This is really PC gone awry; you can’t use the word ‘chink’ in any place that a Chinese person might have a tie to, because it could be construed as racist and result in you losing your job?

Bet you a donut that sooner instead of later (over the weekend perhaps?) cooler heads will prevail and dudes gonna get re-hired by ESPN. Or if not, another outlet will pick him up before too long.

Editor at ESPN qualifies him as a duly-sanctioned member of the major media class and even though he spoke words which may not be spoken.

His membership in the MSM tribe will save him, a) because this was not a firing offense if we take his word that he didnt understand or mean any offense to JL, and b) because he must have completed numerous progressive-belief obstacle courses prior to landing his gig as espen.

A young dude yearning to be a nationally famous sports reporter who talks openly in the newsroom about his lifelong admiration of Bear Bryant Johnny U Duke Wayne Chuck Yeager and Ronald Reagan never makes it out of the mailroom, much less lands a gig as an editor at teh espen.

Chink is actually a pretty common slur, I am surprised to read how many aren’t aware of it.

Growing up in hyper P.C. Connecticut, I made it a point to learn as many racial slurs as I could so I would avoid using them by accident and having my career ruined. There are a ton for Asians: Chink, Slope, Slant, Slit, Gook, Jap and even Chinaman are all unacceptable which can get you fired. It’s amazing how many slurs you can learn when trying to be “tolerant”.

Then you have people getting yelled at for using terms like “Black Hole” or “Black Cloud” which were never racial terms to begin with! Of course anyone who wants a balanced budget and does not vote for Obama to be re-elected must be a grand wizard for the KKK.

Sorry, Pal, I’m sorry that you have fallen for that. No one was hurt in the moment. No one that is not irrational and dysfunctional that is. If I were offended by Irish jokes I could probably get somebody fired once a week (oh yeah, us Irish guys are white so we don’t matter. And we are all drunks anyway). If you are a liberal guy and have aided in the persecution of those with whom liberals disagree for some misplaced words or even for using words that can be scrambled and used to hurt the speakers, then I hope this is a wake up call for you. If you are a conservative then I hope you won’t bend over and grovel. The damage has been done, get a lawyer and sue espn for lots and lots of money and make them prove what they are punishing you for. My bet is you could even get Jeremy Lin to testify that he really couldn’t give a damn about that headline.

As to my earlier point, imo it would be a ginormous public relations feather in the cap of the Knicks and Lin if they discreetly but obviously weighed in with the suits at espn and got the kid un-fired.

As to my earlier point, imo it would be a ginormous public relations feather in the cap of the Knicks and Lin if they discreetly but obviously weighed in with the suits at espn and got the kid un-fired.

Sacramento on February 22, 2012 at 7:36 PM

No. That’s what the left wants. They want the white man to grovel to the minority. If white man grovels enough, benevolent minority “forgives” said white man and white man is restored to his former position only at the behest of those he “oppressed”. It’s a subtle way of signaling to white people that they only exist because the minorities allow us to exist and are willing to forgive us poor hicks are existential sins. It’s a way of signaling that minorities are in charge now and you better get with the program. You haven’t watched enough Hollywood movies. This is a theme seen quite often in many films. It’s a way to reinforce the PC narrative and it’s insidious.

For crying out loud, I don’t even need his story about how great and charitable a guy he is to see how an honest mistake could EASILY be made here. Not only is “chink” a perfectly acceptable word with normal, non-offensive meanings (look it up; most dictionaries in my compilation of dictionaries don’t even mention the racial slur element), but “chink in the armor” is a very common phrase and I’d wager that knowledge of that phrase is FAR more common than the knowledge that “chink” can be used and/or perceived as a racial slur.

follow the rabbit trail down to trying to see what was in a man’s heart. Once you get there, let us know what you find and what racism actually looks like. Al Sharpton will tell you, tomorrow he’ll tell you somethin’ else, and so on.

Dack I dont see it as a skirmish in the endless left/right battle. we’re neck deep in that in almost every aspect of society these days.

I dont think from what I’ve read that the editor knew he was giving offense with that headline. Its clear he should have known but i’m not in a hanging mood these days over trivial stuff.

And if a lefty scalp is what you want to make up for something like the loss of pat buchanan on MSDNC, then espn editor guy is the shadow of church mouse compared to Pat’s Bull Moose in the rut.

Discuss.

Sacramento on February 22, 2012 at 7:53 PM

Pat Buchanan got fired? News to me. I never understood why he was at MSNBC anyway.

I take it you’re insinuating I’m a Buchananite or something. Whatevs. I’m long past worrying about whether I’m this, that, or the other. I’m also long past groveling and sniveling to the left about some perceived “racism”. It’s bullchit and most of us here know it. Most people in society know it. The way the media frame this story you would think Jeremy Lin ran screaming and crying into his bedroom, buried his face in a pillow, and refused to come out. His mother probably had to coax him out with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk and make it all better. Look at Jeremy Lin: does anyone think this comment, even if said maliciously, would do anything to slow this guy down?

I mean, who gives a s**t about what anyone says? I had kids say some pretty nasty stuff about me when I was young, and I reciprocated, but somehow we all made it through and ended up still breathing.

Could a guy who spends sizable parts of his leisure time doing good works for the poor and sick also have a racist compulsion so intense that he’d risk his job on a sub-moronic “chink” joke?
He’s white. So of course he is racists. He could save 10,000 black children from an orphanage fire and still be racist.

portlandon on February 22, 2012 at 6:45 PM

Thank you MSM! I lay the political correctness crap at THEIR feet. They report on what they want to, and how often and intensely…until someone has to act. Conversely they ignore instances of reverse racism, and if there is some grumbling…report it once or twice, so they can say ‘they balance things’. Sharpton has his own TV show for gosh sakes!

“…I guess we need to have a book of words we are no longer allowed to use published because it is getting harder and harder to keep up with the forbidden vocabulary – especially if you are not regularly exposed to these words and don’t have them pointed out.

lukjuj on February 22, 2012 at 7:01 PM”

Well…since you asked…

I would say that you should not repeat not use the term “Flip Chart”. No more “kraut” on your hot dogs. And I’ve also been told that “Nips” crackers are absolutely, positively, never sold in Japan anymore.

I would say that’s enough for today’s lesson.

Tomorrow, 101 ways to insult the muslims without realizing it.

p.s. – Years ago, there was actually an article on the CNN Business website which addressed silliness like this. They actually advised against using the term “flip chart.” I wish I could find that darn article!

It occurs to me that young people have been so PC’d in their schooling that at this point they have no idea if a word or phrase has any suspect connotations at all.

For instance, I get a laugh out of the idea that “cracker” is supposed to be derisive of whites. Atlanta had a AAA minor league baseball team named the Atlanta Crackers (it won the Little World Series in 1962 beating Toronto from the International League). There’s a lot of proud carckers out there. But maybe black people think it’s derisive. So if some black ESPN host utters the word, he’s supposed to get fired?

Whatever.

I think Jeremy Lin should tell ESPN to hire the fellow back. That would be awesome, the suits wouldn’t know what to do, and immediately JL would be the most popular athlete in the entire United States.